Life with a Foster: Routines Make All the Difference

Life with a Husky cannot possibly be boring. The more time I spend with Leche, the more I think either she’s exceptional or Huskies are just smarter than regular dogs. Her memory and her cunning ability to understand when I’m paying attention and when I’m not, have floored me time and again.

Sometimes it seems as though she actually understands English (and consciously chooses whether to listen to my request or not). She picks up on new commands (‘Leave it’ ‘Walk with me’ ‘wait’) quickly.

Her energy and confidence have increased as the days go by, and I forget that she’s still in Heartworm treatment recovery. I try not to crate her too much because that seems more stressful for her than not, but when she’s loose her exuberance is fairly hard to contain. Luckily, she’s very good at entertaining herself.

She does eventually settle down and usually lies right behind my desk chewing on one of Diamond’s toys. For the most part, she and Diamond ignore each other now – roommates but not buddies. I don’t let them out together because Diamond has a VERY exuberant play style and I’m gonna guess that Leche does too, and that would just be too much for this girl who is supposed to be resting and recovering from Heartworm treatment.

I’ve begun taking Leche along for my morning walks (about two and a half miles), to give her a chance to stretch her legs. She is fascinated by the cows and thrilled that if she pokes her nose through the fence at them, they run. The birds hold a particular fascination for her and I do wonder if she thinks she could catch one if she just jumped high enough.

Pouncing on crickets in the ditch along the road is another favorite past-time.

Establishing a routine is so critical to building confidence and the feeling of safety in a foster dog. Up until they reach a foster home, life is hectic, bewildering, with very little routine or familiarity. In the case of Leche, I’m gonna guess that once upon a time, she had a real home. I say that because she is such a sweet dog with none of the fearfulness or anxiousness of so many new fosters.

At some point, she likely became a stray. I guess that because she is INSANELY hungry all the time and knows to look in containers (i.e. trash cans) for food and is always scavenging along the road when we walk. She’s cataloged where every treat bag/container is in my office (or where they are now that I had to move every one of them to higher ground to discourage her persistent searching).

I would imagine that landing in a shelter was the worst of it for this pup. I can’t imagine how miserable she would be in a shelter, even one like Walker County Animal Shelter in Alabama. I’ve been there and know the people to be caring and that the dogs do have access to outside play areas. But it’s a large, noisy metal building full of dogs and so many new sights/sounds/smells that likely overwhelmed Leche like it does most dogs, but especially the intelligent ones.

From there, RUFF (a local rescue that pulls from the shelter and is a long-time partner of OPH) likely placed her in a foster home. That’s where she started the medication she needed to prepare her for heartworm treatment.

Not too long after that, there was the transport, which is stressful for every dog. Upon arriving in Maryland, she met her original foster and lifesaver, Sarah, who took her home with new people and animals.

Leche spent a night at the vet’s office for her heartworm treatment, then had a week recovering in Sarah’s home, before going on another transport. This one was much less stressful since it was in an OPH volunteer’s car and Leche was the only dog. Amy said Leche did howl for the first part of the two plus hour journey.

And then she was here. Everything was new, but Leche seemed to take it in stride.

That said, after eleven days of routine and regular crating and walks, she is settling. Her fun personality is sparkling, and she is happy. She jumps right into her crate for treats, and just as happily bounds out for walks. In between, she explores all the toys Diamond leaves strewn about, sniffs around the fenced foster yard, or relaxes on the floor beside me, and occasionally on the futon.

Settling in does mean that now she would love to chase poor Hazel, if only Hazel would run. Usually, at Leche’s approach, Hazel jumps up onto her cat tower and looks down at her with a hiss (and much disdain). If Leche pokes her big nose up toward Hazel, she is rewarded with a swat and more hissing. So Leche commences howling. Their routine has become predictable.

Hopefully, someday soon Leche will have one last change. She’ll go home with a new family. Paws crossed for that to happen. If you think you might be that forever family for Leche, click here to apply.

Until Each One Has a Home,

Cara

For information on my writing and books, visit CaraWrites.com.

If you’d like regular updates of all our foster dogs past and present, plus occasional dog care/training tips, and occasional foster cat updates (!) be sure to join the Facebook group, Another Good Dog.

And if you’d like to know where all these dogs come from and how you can help solve the crisis of too many unwanted dogs in our shelters, visit WhoWillLetTheDogsOut.org and subscribe to our blog where we share stories of our travels to shelters, rescues, and dog pounds.

If you can’t get enough foster dog stories, check out my book: Another Good Dog: One Family and Fifty Foster Dogs. Or its follow up that takes you to the shelters in the south One Hundred Dogs & Counting: One Woman, Ten Thousand Miles, and a Journey Into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues.

I love to hear from readers and dog-hearted people! Email me at carasueachterberg@gmail.com.

If you’d like to support the work we do (and save the rescue and me some money), shop our Amazon wishlist. We are currently in need of chicken and chicken-byproduct-free, high-quality food and treats, and chew toys for Diamond. Oh, and large bed cover replacements (any size – we can cut the memory foam pieces I have to fit).

If you’d like to take a vacation with your whole pack, consider visiting one of our two dog-WELCOMING vacation rentals. Visits BringDogs.com to learn more.